As if I didn't have enough cars or running my own garage wasn't enough I have aquired another Nostalgic which I'm head over heals with.

A few months ago I was combing the pages of the ususal forums for exciting Dats and Mitsu's "of a certain age" LoL. I came accross a topic by a celeste owner in the UK and had the cheek to ask if he ever considered selling her I'd be very very interested.
I was extremely lucky that Jon took me up on the offer a few months later and now thankfully another classic is saved to be restored as I'm sure jon would have liked if he had not had so many commitments.

So here she is...

As you can see from the plates and rear window sticker original features are charming on this celeste. Even if the previous repairs from early owners which at 4 are very few, have been the only real accelorators in the tinworn which in all all honestly is limited to a few scabs and the usual rear of the sills/arches and front wings.
Other than that its nothing too frightening to aproach thanks to extensive undersealing and waxoil in every panel and the chassis, sills barred, is extremely solid and rust free.

I was lucky an an apprentice to see a celeste up close as the parts manager owned one, now 20 years on I consider myself luckier still to own one.

Today I took a little time out after the working day and with a set of new plugs and a clean up and regapping of the points the misfire was sorted and now she revs and drives really well. The twin carbs seem to make quite a responsive little package of the 1600 and the balance shaft engine raved about by mitsi at the time is torquey and fun.

Now I've got myself in a little dilemma over wheel choice which seems a common one

Out of the 3 wheels there I would go the 'Bright Speeds' or the 'Works'.
I've never been a fan of three spoke wheels.
I'd probably favour the 'Works' out of the 3 sets. Polish that outer lip and paint the centres the same colour as the car.

Any chance of some more pics? I'd like to see your twin carb set-up, (I have a twin carb set-up on my wagon). And I'd also like to see a close up of the badge on the top right side of your grill.

I used to have a Lancer/Celeste exactly the same as this (minus the carbs) I was the same colour and everything. I completely stripped the car and resprayed it. It was a great car, and I wish I had another.

Here is a pic of what it looked like when it was done. I didn't really like the wheels that much, they were off a local Australian model Sigma as a factory wheel. I never got around to changing them.

Thanks guys, I've got a set of DeeeeeeeeeP MK III's I'll try on later today or tomorrow and then photoshop the centers in to get a better idea what works. Can't believe how the rarer rims have dropped in price and the classic MK II's and MK III's have shot through the roof this last year

Yeah Hector I think you are right about the A3A's being a little to mid eighties, I was looking at them for a splash of colour I guess.

Took 10 minutes at the end of the day to try my SSR's on to get a better idea of what wheels would work size and width wise. I got them for my Dat so theyre a little on the wide side and 15's are an inch bigger than I wanted to go but its given me a good idea of what will work best on her.

this will look nice w/ some fender flares and lower it a bit. Good job, man.

Thanks man, hmm you've got me thinkin there, I've only really tried these on to get an idea of what will work best. I think the 15's are a tad big and at 8.5j et 10 and 9.5j et17 they're maybe a little too large for the Celeste.
I've been looking at 14's in 7's and 8's, found some Yayoi's but the price just kept rising way beyond my wallets limit.

This is definitely one sweet ride! I gotta say, I'm a bit jealous, I love the look of these cars, haha.

My vote on wheels, BBS or (this is going to sound crazy, but the side shot made me think of it) DeLorean wheels! proper drop with some flares and the DeLorean wheels would look pretty unique, haha! Although the wheels may look a little too modern.

This is definitely one sweet ride! I gotta say, I'm a bit jealous, I love the look of these cars, haha.

My vote on wheels, BBS or (this is going to sound crazy, but the side shot made me think of it) DeLorean wheels! proper drop with some flares and the DeLorean wheels would look pretty unique, haha! Although the wheels may look a little too modern.

At any rate can't wait to see more on this!CheersDavid

You know after looking at the DeLorean prototype I see what you mean and coincidentely I've been looking at SSR Mesh as they seem to go well too.